A tender mercy

Yesterday I was feeling like summer vacation was kicking my trash. I was so tired. A combination of many things besides just the craziness that summer vacation brings. My husband has been out of town for all or part of 5 of the last 6 weeks [I don’t like broadcasting this fact while he’s actually gone in case someone realizes my fabric stash is unprotected, but he’s done now. Hooray! And seriously, you single parents are the most amazing people on the planet].

Plus we were coming off a busy weekend with the Shop Hop, Father’s Day, and sick kids. And the three-year-old was the cherry on top. On top of being particularly ornery because he was sick, my sweet little cherub boy has morphed into Dennis the Menace. For example: spilling red punch Crystal Light powder all over himself and the kitchen floor [right before we were supposed to leave for the zoo], which required lots of laundry, floor scrubbing and two baths because the first bath turned into Crystal Light fruit punch, so we had to drain that and rinse again; purposely crashing into the back of my leg while he was on his scooter and taking all the skin off my ankle; hysterically laughing while he sits on the horn for 10-straight seconds if he beats me to the car- you get the idea. But the real kicker is the fact that he likes to wake up at 6:45! AM!

So yesterday in my state of emotional and physical exhaustion I decided that since I needed to go to Costco anyway, we would just eat a lazy dinner of pizza slices while we were there. We’re dragging through Costco when we come around a corner and there he is: the man we affectionately call “The Smoothie Man.” The guy who occasionally magically appears to demo the super-duper Vita-Mix blender. All 5 of us (me + four kids) lovingly watched him blend those raw fruits and vegetables into his wonderful creations. We stayed for all three: the tortilla soup, the fruit smoothie AND the ice cream.

I don’t know why, but this just totally made my day. I think it partly had something to do with the fact that it meant my kids would actually get servings of fruits and vegetables for our pathetic dinner that night, but I think that for some reason I just needed that lovely, happy little (free) surprise at the end of a long day/week/month. Thank you Smoothie Man. (I promise you that one day I will actually buy one of your products too.)

22 Comments

We are such Costco fans. In fact when Mr. Cactus announced he wanted to move to St.Geoge, my first question was &quot;Do they have a Costco?&quot; followed by &quot;How many quilt stores?&quot;<br />Best of luck with all the little ones. It&#39;s hard work, but with wonderful payoffs.

Isn&#39;t it amazing….such a small, small thing can make a big difference. Glad you made it through to the other side!:)<br />Thank heaven for Costco freebies. We only go about once every couple of months so we alway splurge on a Berry Smoothie.<br />And yes, hurray for you taking such good care of your family AND blogging to us while your husband was away….you always manage to put a smile

I have the VitaMix from Costco – and my husband has turned into ourown personal smoothie man! The boys have one every night. As long as you have Trader Joe&#39;s, smoothies are super easy and so yummy.<br /><br />I hope you have a nice non-punch filled day toady!

Oh Amy, my heart feels for you. I&#39;m glad you have your entire family back together again – so hard when those husbands have to travel. (We LOVE Costco too – my little guy complains when we shop for groceries anywhere else.)

You are so sweet. I&#39;m sorry you&#39;ve had a some rough days, well make that weeks! Chase has been driving me up the wall lately too. He thinks it is funny to do exactly what I have asked him not to do and then he wonders why he gets in trouble!

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